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Bulletin Reflection

Do We Trust in God?

By Alice Camille

There’s a saying in Haiti that sums up many conversations there: Life is hard, but God is good. Coming from a community that’s among the poorest on the planet, it’s a statement of faith that inspires wonder. We tend to scramble our theology with our personal experiences: When things go well, we say we’re blessed. When things go awry, we’re tempted to curse God, to feel cheated, or at least to ask, “Why is God doing this to me?”

To distinguish our circumstances from our theology is rare. To testify that God remains good, no matter what happens here on earth, is a higher order of fidelity. The Hebrew prophets operated on this level when, in the midst of war, economic upheaval, national depravity, or crushing humility, they forecast peace, prosperity, renewal, and restoration. In the moral testing that each generation faces, the prophets continued to proclaim that God would be good, no matter what the nation stooped to or was beset with.

Do we, in our times, trust in the goodness of God? Do we refuse to despair when the economy falls apart, when violence lingers in the news, or when our national leaders display all the moral formation of 2-year-olds? Because that is what our faith requires of us. The fact is, religion isn’t something we do only in church; it’s how we live in the midst of our families, communities, and generation, with all the nastiness, broken dreams, and dreary prognoses we encounter therein. Religion has to do with the choices we make whether employed or unemployed, well or sick, alone or ensconced in interdependent relationships. As religious educator Adele Gonzalez points out in her book named after the Haitian saying above, none of us has the luxury to talk about God apart from our life experiences. We are “home in the middle of everything, in the middle of ‘IT,’ ” Gonzalez says.

So what do we believe, in the middle of IT? That’s the only creed worth professing. If we speak a mere rehearsed formula after the homily and live another reality entirely when we return home, our faith has lost its integrity. Does God remain “good” after Mass or simply become irrelevant outside of this hour? When Jesus invites us to approach him with our burdens, that means we’re welcome to bring to him our total and true selves. Jesus is with us in the realities of every hour, not only in the golden singularity of the sacramental moment. We’re not asked to set down our pack of troubles outside the church door, rest an hour, and then reassume the burdens of life alone once more. When life is hard, in the middle of IT, Jesus accompanies us to demonstrate that God is, now and always, relentlessly on the side of good.

Announcements

CWL CLOTHING DEPOT PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE IN DATES – THE CWL CLOTHING DEPOT WILL BE CLOSED JULY 23RD UNTIL OCTOBER 11TH. Due to renovations they will not be open August and September. Donations will be accepted until July 22. After July 22, please save your gently used items until October as they will not be able to accept them until then.

PARISH PARKING LOT PARTY: This year’s Parish Parking Lot Party will be held on August 11, 2011 from 4:00pm to 7:00pm. Volunteer sign up sheets are in the church for anyone that wishes to assist with this event.

COOKIES NEEDED: We are looking for donations of cookies for the Parish Parking Lot Party. Cookie donations can be dropped off at the rectory during office hours or at the church before and after Masses. Due to allergy concerns, no nuts please.

Sidewalk Repairs The Sidewalk and ramp on the north side of St. Mary’s Church has deteriorated over the course of the last few winters. A contractor has been hired to rebuild the sidewalk and construction will take place during the month of August. In the meantime please exercise caution when using this sidewalk. Use the handrail for added safety.

SODALITAS: Are you grieving and suffering from a loss?

Join us for SODALITAS; a safe caring group for reflecting and sharing for those who are experiencing grief. Our next meeting is Saturday, July 9 at 10:00AM in the upper room of St. Mary’s Parish Hall. Topic: Coping

Be a Part of a Piece of Art: Take advantage of a unique opportunity to be a part of the history of our diocese. Consider making a pledge toward the new Stained Glass Windows for the Cathedral of the Holy Family. Consider a gift in honour or in memory of a loved one. For those who make a gift in memory a picture and your words of remembrance will be part of a multimedia donor recognition display in the new Cathedral. A pictorial booklet and pledge forms are available at the back of the Church. For more information please contact the Diocese of Saskatoon Foundation office at 306-244-6667 or email chagerty@dscatholicfoundation.ca